The number of 9/11 cancer victims has skyrocketed 1,680% over the past decade — fueled by rare variations of the disease, according to new statistics released as the grim 25th anniversary of the attacks nears.
Cancer certifications among Twin Tower survivors, downtown Manhattan residents and workers on and near The Pile have exploded from 3,204 in 2015 to 57,044 this year, reveal figures compiled by the World Trade Center Health Program.
“Sadly, we lose roughly two clients a day and see a new cancer certification every 50 minutes,” said lawyer Michael Barasch, whose firm represents thousands of people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program.
For the first time, the number of cancer cases among survivors who resided, worked or attended school near Ground Zero has now surpassed the amount of emergency responders such as firefighters and police who had prolonged exposure, statistics show.
Survivors accounted for 28,913 of the overall cancer cases to date, a staggering 4,066% increase from the 694 cases reported in 2015. Responders made up 28,131 of the cancer cases.
A growing number of survivors and responders are meanwhile being diagnosed with rare cancers.
For example, there are 82 cases of cancer of the thymus gland, a small organ located in the upper chest behind the breastbone. Such tumors represent fewer than 1 percent of all cancer cases.
There also are 591 cases of neuroendocrine cancers, which are uncommon tumors found most often in the pancreas, bowel, lungs or adrenal glands, affecting the stomach and bowels. The number of such cases jumped 6% from March through June among 9/11 survivors.
The Post also previously reported an alarming number of male survivors being stricken with breast cancer after being exposed to the toxic air around Ground Zero. There are now 188 victims of male breast cancer.
There also are 163 victims of brain cancer, an increase of 14 cases, or 9%, in the past quarter.
The cancer surge is attributed partly to the advancing age of the population of Ground Zero responders and survivors — with most now in their late 50s, 60s or early 70s.
Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through June of this year show that 67% of the 145,275 current World Trade Center Health Program members are certified for at least one of 69 cancers linked to 9/11 toxins, well above the national rate of around 40% for Americans overall, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, there is another terrifying new reality, too: At least 9,425 are now dying from post-9/11-related illnesses, more than triple the 2,977 lives lost Sept. 11, 2001.
“9/11 did not end on 9/11. The cancer clock is ticking 24/7,” Barasch said.
Leslie Lane, now 76, worked in the World Financial Center Building for Merrill Lynch across from the World Trade Center and was in her office when the planes rammed into the towers.
Lane recalled seeing the “dust cloud” while evacuating.
“You could taste the dust. You could taste the fuel, greasy gas,” she told The Post.
She went to another office at 222 Broadway two days later to plan for relocation of Merrill Lynch’s lawyers and returned downtown that November.
Lane was diagnosed with thymus cancer during a check-up in 2020.
“I was lucky. The cancer was caught early,” she said.
She had the tumor removed during surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and it has not recurred.
Lane has no doubt that inhaling contaminants from Ground Zero caused her cancer.
“Thymus cancer is a very rare form of cancer. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke,” she said.
“For months afterward, you could taste the fuel in the air in the back of your throat and mouth. They kept telling us the air was safe. I don’t think it was,” she said.
James Ryan, 65, an electrician, helped light up sites at Ground Zero, including in and around the Pile, and rewiring the WTC PATH train sites.
He said he later went for a regular check-up and that blood was found in his urine. He underwent an MRI, and his pancreatic cancer was discovered in an early stage.
He had part of his pancreas removed in 2019.
“I got very lucky,” Ryan said.
Barasch said there’s more work to be done.
He said only about 15% of the civilians who had exposure to the 9/11 toxins have enrolled in the World Trade Center health program.
His firm represents former students who attended high schools and colleges near the World Trade Center who have been stricken with illnesses at a young age. Students from Stuyvesant High School, Borough of Manhattan Community College, PACE University and elementary and middle schools were in the danger zone.
He said it’s best to join the WTC Health Program and get checked out.
“Early detection is the difference between life and death,” Barasch said.
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